Category: General Musings

I needed a haircut today. Since I am not confident enough in my Japanese to make an appointment, I just wander in the day I want to get it cut and take my chances that at some point in the day I’ll be able to get in. I left the house around 11:15 am. As always, I was able to get in and we are converging on a style. Although I still look a little manga/anime-ish when I leave, I can handle it.

I still don’t have a car, and I live in an urban area. I get my hair cut in the main shopping area of Nagoya. Since I walk to the salon, while I walk I have time to conjure up ways to spend money, and then I have time to actually spend the money on the way back. Since I know various shops, I am getting quite efficient at it.

After my haircut, lunch was overdue, so had some good soup and bread. It is quite refreshing on a brisk (cold?) winter day. Between 2 weeks ago and today the weather has changed significantly. It is much colder, the ginko trees have shed all their leaves, the sun is low on the horizon, and it feels like winter.

Anyway, after lunch, I decided that I needed a new pair of shoes. I decided months ago that I needed a new pair of shoes. I’m still in a Dr. Martens kind of mindset. The only problem is, DMs are about $200 a pair here. Remarkable, considering they are $80 on Zappos.com. I had been avoiding buy shoes because they were just too expensive. Once again, brand loyalty is killing my wallet. I went to the store that I had seen Docs before, found exactly the shoe I wanted, so I bought them. All the while I was reminding myself that I have a cost of living adjustment to account for such price differences. Sort of.

Since it is the Christmas season, I needed a few more Christmas gifts and some wrapping paper. I never shop this early, but then again I’ve never had to ship things across the ocean. 1 “roll” of wrapping paper in Japan is less than 1 meter long. Every wrapped gift is a labor of love I guess.

Since it is chilly out, I thought I’d pick up a throw at BoConcept, otherwise known as a blanket. I found a really nice one that I liked. Of course, it was WAY too much. At least I think it was way too much. That one I had to walk away from.

My haircut trip ended up taking 4 hours and emptied my wallet, without a single fossil fuel consumed by me in the process.

As much as I might fret the prices in Japan, especially when considering where the dollar is against the yen, I still find a haircut to be quite economical. I’m sure some of my colleagues would disagree, but they are the Supercuts type. I’m only paying $15 more than in the States when I go to my salon (Toni&Guy) here in Japan. How does that make it economical? During the first shampoo, I get a nice scalp massage. I get a haircut that is meticulously executed, especially today. Then the fun begins. I get another shampoo to get rid of the loose hairs and another quick scalp massage during the washing. I taken back to my chair, and there I get a scalp treatment followed by a much deeper scalp, neck, shoulders and partial back massage. Finally I get my hair dried and styled (aka anime’d). There’s no upsell on the massage, there’s no extra tip. As a matter of fact, there is no tip at all. It is just the service. I wish I could get my hair cut once a week.

I am strangely content tonight. That’s especially strange since I just got home at about 8:30 pm after leaving for work at 6:45 am. I worked at full day, had some dinner, went shopping, and now I am doing laundry. Always and forever laundry.

Working today actually was not that bad. I knew I had to go in, so my mind was already prepared. I also knew few people would be in, so I had a chance to do some things I needed to do. And I did. I crossed some things off my list that had been on there way too long. Unfortunately, I barely got to the list but I’ll think about that later.

The weather has turned really cold here – well not REALLY cold but compared to LA it is cold. I’ve been searching for a knit cap / beanie / stocking cap / sock cap whatever you want to call it thingy. Conveniently, underground near the subway station, there is a row of outdoor geared shops (Columbia, The North Face, etc). I just bopped back and forth to find the acceptable cap. I found an adequate one and bought it. Of course, I forgot that there is a Patagonia shop just down the street and a Gap nearby as well. I guess you can never have too many knit caps / beanies / stocking caps / sock caps whatever you want to call it thingies.

I also did some Christmas shopping, successfully I might add. Tonight felt good because I was able to use Japanese well enough while shopping that my questions were understood, that my needs were met, and no one laughed and I didn’t get frustrated.

Now, as the hour approaches 9:00 pm, I am quite happy to be sitting at home. I’ve got the floor turned on, sitting in a hoodie, doing laundry, and working on my blog. Pretty soon I’ll stare at my monitor and watch Ugly Betty courtesy of iTunes. What more can an ex-pat wish for?

Tomorrow my big plans are to rest, relax, get my hair cut, and check out the sale at Bo Concept. I wonder if they have blankets? I need something for the couch in the cold.

That’s it. No photos, no stories bordering on hyperbole. Just life.

The marvels of technology – I’m writing my blog as I sit on the bullet train from Tokyo to Nagoya. I had a good weekend in Tokyo – the main purpose of which was to see a concert with Tomo. We saw Shiina Ringo at the Saitama Super Arena. More on that later.

Christmas is a big season here. As I’ve said before, there always seems to be a season. Right now it is Christmas season. But wait, Japan is not generally a Christian society. Hey, that doesn’t stop Xmas. It might discourage Christmas, but Xmas is in full glory.

I’ve been here plenty of times around Christmas. The decorations start coming out in shops around the middle of November. I’ve never been here on Christmas or just after, but I’m guessing the decorations come done December 26. I’m not sure what the target audience is or the reason for the decorations. I think basically the main purpose is to stimulate retail. The decorations are centered around large department stores and shopping areas. But even hotels and major office buildings have some decorations.

I don’t think there is really any tradition of exchanging gifts on Christmas Day. However, it is sort of a date holiday – akin to Valentine’s Day or White Day? One of the things to do is to plan a nice dinner and book a hotel room for the night. Why? I don’t know.

The lights and decorations, though, are spectacular. Different places try to outdo each other so the lights get really nice. Some are synchronized to music, some tell stories, some just use a lot of electricity. You also get the opportunity to see some interesting combinations of words. In Nagoya we had Happy! Merry Xmas and sometimes Happy! Merry Christmas. Both were sponsored by Meitetsu Department Store.

Happy! Merry Xmas somehow ties in to WALL-E. I’m not sure how.

JR Takashimaya department store put together a remarkable light display in front of the station with a large light display on the side of the building.

 

 

 

Of course, there are special Christmases for gifted people.

 

 

Later Breaking News: OK, so I wrote the bit above on November 30. Now it is actually December 2. I have started to teach an English class for 30 minutes at lunch time once a week. I’ve been going to watch another class as well. Today, the discussion was on the Christmas tradition in Japan. I got some interesting stories. Basically, there is a little bit of gift exchange, mostly parents to children. The legend of Santa Claus is around in Japan as well. We asked how Santa arrives – through the chimney seemed quite unlikely. The students / colleagues simply cocked their heads and said, “Maybe through the front door?”

Japan does have many nice decorations. A few I saw in Tokyo are below.

 

 

 

 

While I was out and about with my friend Jin on Saturday night, we stumbled across the Tori-no-ichi (Good Luck Rake Fair) at the Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku. The fair, “Tori-no-Ichi (Good Luck Rake Fair) is held at Otori Shrines in Tokyo and Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku-ku on certain days in November every year. Kumade (bamboo rakes) adorned with ornaments symbolizing good fortune and prosperous business are sold at dozens of stalls almost all day long on the fair days. The biggest Tori-no-Ichi in scale is the one held at Otori Shrine in Taito-ku.” It was crazy-crowded, with the usual festival fair.